In addition to therapeutic benefits, there are others that have to do with our sports performance.
Walking requires no special equipment or a gym membership, and best of all, it’s completely free.
For most of us, walking is something we do automatically. It doesn’t require a conscious effort, so many of us don’t remember the benefits it has for our health.
But what happens if we stop walking on autopilot and start challenging our brains and bodies by walking backward?
It’s not just a change of direction that demands more attention, it can also bring additional health benefits.
Physical activity doesn’t have to be complicated.
Whether you’re normally active or not, a daily walk can provide a host of health benefits and may count toward the World Health Organization’s recommendation to get a minimum of 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week.
Even so, walking is somewhat more complicated than many of us think.
Standing upright requires coordination between our visual, vestibular (sensations associated with movement such as turning, turning, or moving quickly), and proprioceptive (awareness of where our bodies are in space) systems.
When we walk backward, our brains take longer to process the additional demands of coordinating these systems. However, this higher level of challenge brings with it greater health benefits.
One of the best-studied benefits of walking backward is improved stability and balance. Practicing it can help us improve our normal (i.e., forward) gait, and, in terms of improving balance, it helps both healthy adults and those with osteoarthritis of the knee.
When walking backward, we take shorter and more frequent steps, which improves the endurance of the lower leg muscles and reduces the load on the joints.
Adding gears and walking up or down an incline can also alter the range of motion of your joints and muscles, offering pain relief for conditions like plantar fasciitis, one of the most common causes of heel pain.
The postural changes created by walking backward make more use of the muscles that support the lumbar spine. This suggests that walking backward may be a particularly beneficial exercise for people with chronic low back pain.
This technique has even been used to identify and treat balance and walking speed in patients with neurological conditions or after chronic stroke.
A change in the energy we expend
The benefits of changing directions aren’t just therapeutic: Interest in the backward movement has led researchers to discover other benefits.
While walking normally can help us maintain a healthy weight, walking backward can be even more effective.
The energy expenditure with this change is almost 40% greater than walking at the same speed forward: 6.0 Mets vs. 4.3 Mets (one metabolic equivalent, Met, is the amount of oxygen consumed while sitting Resting).
One study showed reductions in body fat for women who completed a six-week gait or backward run training program.
When we feel confident in moving backward, moving forward and running like this can increase the demands even more.
Although often studied as a rehabilitation tool, running backward increases the strength of the muscles that are crucial to straightening the knee, which not only translates to injury prevention but also to our ability to generate power and performance. Athletic.
Running backward steadily decreases the energy we expend when running forward. These improvements are even beneficial to experienced runners who already have a technique for running more energy-efficiently.
If walking backward becomes too easy and space limitations appear to practice this running, another way to increase the difficulty is to start dragging weights.
Increasing the overall load increases the use of the knee extensor muscles while placing heavy demands on the heart and lungs in a short space of time.
When walking backward, we are more likely to miss obstacles and hazards that we might bump into or fall into, so for the sake of safety, it’s best to start indoors, where you know you won’t bump into something or someone. , or do it in an open and flat space.
Resist the temptation to contort your body and look over your shoulder. Keep your head and chest up as you reach your big toe back for each step, rolling your foot from toe to heel.
Once you’re more confident, you can speed things up and even transition to a treadmill, making sure to use the guide rails when necessary.
If you use weights, start light. Focus on multiple sets rather than long distances, and remember to maintain the integrity of your technique over a distance of no more than 20 meters to start with.